Buying jeans for teenage boys is MISERABLE!!!!

[Badkins]

My teen boys are going on a school trip next week so we took inventory to see what they were going to need before they left. (No washers available where they are staying) Believe it or not the only thing they were short on was jeans. One only needed 1 pair and the other one didn't have any that fit right (he has been in boxing training for a year now and his leg muscles are defined to the point that his jeans were too snug) First we went to Platos Closet (a second hand teen store). He tried on several pair (15.99 each) and that was when the frustration began. THey were either too skinny legged, too low, too baggy!!!!! ARGH!!!!! I was really starting to get frustrated. Boys are not suppose to be hard to shop for (or that is what everyone tells you). Finally he settled for a pair of bluenotes jeans for $15.99.
I was not very happy about my next decision but really didn't have much of a choice, so off we went to the mall. I tried explaining to him that He was going to have to wear a pair a couple days because I could only get him 2 pair at the mall. I stressed the importance of trying to keep the cost under $30 each. We really do not have an extra $60 this week (we have an unexpected trip to make to Indiana. My uncle died earlier in the week). So we go into a couple stores and everything was $50 and up for the jeans he was looking at. So I asked him to try Bluenotes since the ones we just bought were from there maybe he would be able to find some that fit the same way. As we walked in the door they had big signs everywhere saying the entire store was 30% off. Ok, this is starting to make my mood a little better. He found a pair and the tag said 29.00. He reminded me that I said under $30. He didn't realize in his sarcasm that they were an additional 30% off so technically they were $27. While he was trying them on (which takes forever!!!!!) I noticed a bunch of jeans off to themselves on a shirt rack. I walk over and see they all have a $10 tag on them . The only problem, am I going to get my son to like them, are they going to fit right, yadda yadda yadda. I finally convinced him to just try them on. (i didn't want to live in regretville) He came out of the dressing room with a smile on his face. He really liked the fit . I wanted to do a happy dance right there in the store. I didn't because just being at the mall with his mom was embarrassing enough. So I contained my excitement. I asked the cashier if they were an additional 30% off of the $10 and she said yes So instead of dancing through the store I walked over to the rack and grabbed the last 6 pair that they had in his size and the last 2 pair they had in his older brothers size. Yes, I cleared the shelf, but I am ok with that because the next time he needs jeans I will not have to go through 5 hours of stress because we cannot find anything that fits properly. I will just calmly walk to my closet and grab a pair out of a box So I bought 8 pair of jeans for $63. I like that better than 2 pair for $60. The best thing about this is He now had jeans that he likes and feels confident while wearing them.
I am a bit frustrated over spending 15.99 on a used pair of bluenotes jeans at platos closet when I bought brand new ones for $7 .

[ShopoholicAnonymous]

And if you have an SPC card they take 10% off!I feel your pain..I bought my son a pair of Levi's last weekend at Sears when they were having their match the US prices deal, $29 plus a 10% scratch and save....I am not paying $50 for American eagle jeans!

[coupon girl]

oh well you didnt know you were going to get cheaper jeans - hey great buys for you on the price of the jeans - i took my son xmas shopping one year when he was 15 or 16 for jeans - gee it was awfull -i told him he was worse than his sister-doesnt fir right ,to low same reasons you had -oh well-say la vie thats boys for you

[lilo0003]

I think shelf clearing is fine in this case and I would have done the same thing. I have boys as well & they are just as difficult to shop with as girls & they have less choice.
Can you return the used ones? I would be annoyed with that as well.

[Makena]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Have a safe trip.
I'm glad your shopping turned out so well! I too, have teenage boys, and jean shopping can be such a nightmare. Who knew? Bet you won't have to do it again for a while, though.

[Makena]

I am not paying $50 for American eagle jeans!

Unfortunately their jeans seem to be about the only ones that fit my oldest.
Thankfully, we've managed to get some excellent deals there on the clearance rack with an additional 50% off.

[Chantel]

Shopping for boys is so hard! Glad you got a great deal!

[Badkins]

the one who is the hardest to shop for really likes American Eagle jeans but I bought him one pair at christmas and paid $52 for them. Within 2 months he out grew them. So this time I told him I didn't think we could afford AE since he needed at least 2 pair. But I agree the AE jeans seam to fit the hard to fit guys, I just wish they weren't so expensive. I try hard to see to it that my boys feel confident with themselves and their appearance and sometimes it is the labels that give them that confidence (I do not understand it, nor will I ever) but labels are hard to fit in a tight budget.
I think I am going to take back the pair from Platos Closet. I know it is silly, but it is really aggravating me. A year and a half ago this wouldn't have bothered me but this "couponing" thing does something to a person.

[freebies258]

good job!!! and old navy has good deals too, sometime they have addition % on clearance item...
when they're on sale, it's even cheaper than consignment store....

[Bargain Seeker]

I have been buying jeans for my 10 years old at Winners recently.Really great deals on clearance from $7 to $11 and really great jeans.

[ninna]

lol. Awesome brag... though, I'm sure you were quite frustrated and stressed.

Welcome to the story of my life. I have one kid that simply is the most finicky child I've ever met. Shopping is torture. She shops for hours and takes forever just to pick out one single thing she'll actually consider trying on. Maybe 50% of the time (after hours of looking and finally trying it on), she decide it's "worthy" to buy. In about 25% of the cases, we get the item home and she wears it a couple times only to decide that she doesn't really like as much as she thought she did. UGH. I could scream.

And that doesn't even touch trying to find something that matches my price range either. That's a whole other set of negotiations. LOL. But gone are the days when I could pick up super cheap stuff on clearance. I don't bother anymore because I simply cannot seem to predict with any certainty whether she'll wear it. So even if it's a $5 something-or-other, it's stillw asted money if she decides she doesn't like it, right?

The kicker? This is an eight year old I'm talking about.

If she's like this now, what will I do when she's 15???

Hey--I wonder if you could get your money back from the first store you shopped at. Taken em back & say they don't fit or something. Just a thought...

[mimi-]

great deal on the jeans! definitely the best price i ever seen; even better than the outlet prices if your son really likes ae, you should buy online when they have a 30%/bogo 50% off + free shipping deal and the prices you pay will be a direct conversion from usd to cad (no more absurd cdn prices). although i guess you do have enough jeans for a long time to come

[sweetmomma]

WTG on the jeans! I agree boys have less options!

[>Femme Fatale<]

Awh, well at least you won't have to go through that for a while!

Do you have a Liquidation World near you? I've gotten American Eagle jeans for $2-$3 there! Didn't see if they had any for boys but it might be worth checking out.

I also second Winner's, they always have brand name jeans for less than $10 in the clearance racks. They're way better quality than most mall brands!

[Sally888]

Gap had a ton of jeans for less then 10 bucks for boys! I love finding deals too!